Art in the Loop 2025 Kicks Off with Indian Dance, Violin Duo and Local Artists

By Ann Holliday, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Downtown Council of Kansas City

The Art in the Loop Foundation will hold a Kick-Off event for the 2025 Art in the Loop Project: Wonder, on Thursday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library Central Library. Guests will enjoy an evening of art and music as they are invited to meet the 2025 performing and visual artists. The event will kick off at 5:30 p.m. with musical performances by Monarch Duo, traditional dance by Kathak Aura, and an interactive live painting with Olivia Michka occurring throughout the evening. Guests are invited to meet with performing and visual artists for a chance to learn about the work the artists are creating for this year’s project. Please join us for this event, which is free and open to the public. Click here to RSVP.

Olivia Michka and her live paintings begin with a blank canvas, she works to the energy of the music, the musicians, and the audience to produce a completed oil painting by the end of the show. The Monarch Duo brings a wealth of knowledge and experience allowing for the showcasing of baroque performance practice, tango, and even rock through the timeless medium of the violin. Garima Yadav teaches and promotes Kathak (Indian classical dance) through performances, lectures, and collaborations with local artists. Garima engages audiences with grace and rhythm, preserving tradition while exploring cross-artform connections, bringing Kathak Aura to the Art in the Loop Kickoff Event.

The Art in the Loop Project is a curated outdoor exhibition of temporary artworks and performance series presented in partnership with KC Streetcar. This year marks the twelfth year for the Art in the Loop Project and includes visual artwork based on paintings and digitized illustrations, and performance artwork based in dance, experimental jazz, hip hop, spoken word, and more.

Artists responded to the theme, Wonder by focusing their curiosity on our community and the ways in which we relate to one another. Artists to reflected on the complexities of connection, discovery, and the shared experiences that shape us.

Artists are selected for the annual program through an online application process open to artists in the greater Kansas City area. A selection panel consisting of local artists, curators, educators, and community members reviewed over 75 applications and selected 21 visual and performing artists.

The following visual artists’ works will be displayed from June through October 2025:

Visual Artists and Art Installations:

• Adrianne Clayton, Reflection, on the Library Southbound KC Streetcar Shelter, 9th & Main
• David Morris, Music is Community, on the Kauffman Center Southbound KC Streetcar Shelter, 16th & Main
• Edwing Mendez, Woven for the Cosmos, on the ARTwall at 13th & Grand
• MacKenzie Fulmer, Newcomer, on the Metro Center Northbound KC Streetcar Shelter, 12th & Main
• Max Dlabick, Interplanetery Joyride, on KC Streetcar Vehicle
• Miranda Clark, Jewel, on the Crossroads Southbound KC Streetcar Shelter, 19th & Main
• Miranda Pietzsch, Under Our Feet, on the Palace Building adjacent to Oppenstein Park, 12th & Walnut
• Taylor Fourt, Kansas City Grows Up, on the River Market West KC Streetcar Shelter, 4th & Delaware

The following performing artists will present an incredible summer revue of free performances. For fans of music, dance, and spoken word, we are certain that there will be something engaging for everyone.

Performance Artists & Schedule:

• Kick-Off Event | June 5, 5:30 p.m. at Kansas City Public Library – Central Library
  • Kathak Aura
  • Monarch Duo
  • Olivia Michka
• Art Walk | June 25, 5:30 p.m.

• On Board the KC Streetcar | July 16, 6:00 p.m.
  • Tres Collective
  • Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Performing as Jer

• 816 Day | August 16, 6:00 p.m., City Market
  • True Lions
  • Myself Embodied
  • Jass

• Oppenstein Park | September 11, 5:30 p.m., Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park
  • The Swallowtails
  • Unique Sixteen
  • EleveN2wenty2

• Closing Reception | October 2, 5:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library – Central Library
  • David Luther
  • Firetale Theatre

All performances are free and open to the public; learn more at www.artintheloop.com; RSVP on our Eventbrite page; and stay up to date by following us on Instagram or Facebook.

The 2025 Art in the Loop Project is provided performance artistic guidance by Jade Osborne and visual artistic guidance by Khyneesha Edwards.

Community, Sponsors & Supporters

Artists have played a key role in the revitalization of Downtown Kansas City over the past few decades and through programs like Art in the Loop, this will continue. In the words of renowned local artist Michael Toombs,  “Through projects like Art in the Loop, Downtown KC is becoming part of a highly visible cultural landscape that reminds us of who we are, as well as inspires us in who we are yet to become.” We have unique opportunities for your organization to connect with the community and support local artists through sponsorships and charitable donations.

Your organization will benefit from being associated with an effort to express a vision of equity, inclusivity, accessibility, resiliency, and vibrancy in Downtown Kansas City. Your organization will benefit from showing your support for local artists and arts organizations! In 2024, nearly 1 million people viewed our artwork (and our supporters’ logos) throughout downtown.

We appreciate the generous support of the KC Streetcar Authority, Henderson Engineers, Stinson LLP, Copaken Brooks, UMB Bank, and the Kansas City Art Institute. This project is funded in part by the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, the Francis Family Foundation and the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund, with public support from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, as well as other corporate sponsorships and philanthropic contributions.

We also appreciate the support and participation of all our project partners, including the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement Districts, KC Streetcar, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City Art Institute, and the City Market.

Click here to learn how you can support local artists.

# # #

Contacts:

Art in the Loop
Ann Holliday, Program Director, ann@downtownkc.org, (c) 816-718-1355

Khyneesha Edwards, Visual Arts Director, neesha_edwards@yahoo.com

Jade Osborne, Performing Arts Director, jademuse@gmail.com

KC Streetcar

Donna Mandelbaum, Communications & Marketing Director, dmandelbaum@kcstreetcar.org,  (c) 816-877-3219